The perfect year (highschool au)
by RacistSpatulasofAmerica
Summary: When Tom stepped into Macomb high school on the first day of his junior year he never could have predicted this...
1. Chapter 1

It was the first day of my junior year at the old Maycomb high school. There was a crisp autumn breeze in the air as I walked towards the wide entrance. It had been over two months since I'd seen him. His eyes glistened magnificently as I started toward him in the grubby cafeteria. Maybe this year would be the year he finally notices me. He'd just broken up with his fellow senior girlfriend, I think she might have died or something. Whatever, she was always too perky anyways. Whatever the reason, he seems to have gotten over the harsh breakup just fine as I can see him glance my way while hand in hand with no other than Bob Ewell. My heart drops.

"Atticus…", I start, voice cracking.

"I didn't realize you were dating someone already." I say sourly as I stomp away. I feel the blood rush to my face as I turn away. Tears threaten to fall from my eyes as I rush into the mens washroom. I look up at the mirror. I'm a mess. What a fool I was for thinking he would ever want me.

" _Pull yourself together, Tom,"_ I think to myself, " _you don't want people to think you're a dweeb."_

After splashing my face with cool water I quickly compose myself and walk to my first class. I'm already late so I take my time to look at the small heart I had carved into the plastic display case last year. I had put it there in hopes that someday Atticus would like me back. He'd probably think it was cute or something. Now it seems that life has killed that dream. In fact, I'm certain he would report me if he ever found out about my vandalism.

I shake my head. No. Just because he's dating that jerk Bob Ewell, it doesn't mean that I still don't hold a chance. Maybe if I could just give the couple a little push so their relationship would fall apart…

An idea pops into my head. Oh. Oh, yes. The details begin to fall into place as I open the wooden door to a dimly lit classroom. This is going to be a excellent year…


	2. Chapter 2

I carefully slip my books into my bag at of the end of class. It was lit. I could barely pay attention to Miss Caroline, as I was scheming my revenge on that Bob Ewell. It's just so upsetting seeing him skip around holding hands with my one true love. The mere thought of those two being intimate makes my skin burn. I rush home and ready myself.

The next day I get to school early. My heart races as I sneak across the hall to Bob's locker. Passing my carving I whisper, "Soon my love"  
I carefully listen as I fiddle with the old combination lock. After a minute or two of trying the door swings free. I quickly glance down the hall as I pull the old mayonnaise from my sack and smirk.  
By the time I'm finishing up the buses have just arrived and the students are pouring in. I speedily add the final touch to my creation; a heart shape note with "Love, Atticus" inscribed in perfect cursive. Hoping no one noticed, I hurry to my personal locker and start putting away my books. I see Bob's letterman jacket before I see him. "Here it comes…" I think anxiously.  
As I turn to make my way to home room I see him… Atticus, my Atticus, in HIS jacket. My face burns hot while I find my way to a classroom and attempt to calm my anger. However, in the process of doing so a sudden yell comes from the hallway. At first I think nothing of it and go back to my thoughts, until I realize, that was a noise that only an Ewell could make…

 **AN: Sorry for the wait! We know we left you with a reaaaaaaally big cliffhanger. 3s to our one follower! (a new record! :D)**

 **With love, RacistSpatulasofAmerica**


	3. Chapter 3

My moment of victory is short though...a minute later I hear another cry that could only be Atticus. NO! I rush towards the scream and see a crowd of students circled around Bob pinning Atticus to the lockers, and not in a good way ;). I'm paralyzed for a second. My mind catches up to me when Bob throws a fist into Atticus' perfect face. My insides burn, and my feet move by themselves. I run towards them before I know what I'm doing. I dive between the pair just as a strong blow hits my chest. I cripple to the ground. Students gasp and scatter backwards.

Astonished, Bob looks down at me. "What the fudge are you doing!" he yells.

Cradling my stomach, I look up at him wearily, "Don't you ever think about hurting Atticus again. You don't deserve such an angel," I spit.

He huffs and stomps away. I immediately begin to relax. That is….until I realized I was on top of a certain special someone. "Oh...uh...I'm so sorry," I stutter as I clamber to my feet.

Atticus looks up at me, amazed. "Thanks for, you know...saving me," he whispers. I can barely take it, his face is so beautiful. I reach out a hand to help him up.

"No problem," our eyes don't leave one another. "Wanna..sit with me at lunch? I mean-I don't want Bob bothering you…" I mumble.

"I'd love to," he says with the deepest sincerity. My heart leaps.

We say our goodbyes as we go off to our classes. From the corner of my vision I see him strip off Bob's jacket and throw it into the bin. That punch was so worth it.

 **AN: Surprise! Double chapter day! (We kinda may have felt a bit guilty for making you wait so long) Ooooo so exciting! Threes to all of our fans :). Now for diving into the romance...;)**

 **Peace out, RacistSpatulasofAmerica 3**


	4. Chapter 4

I grab my tray and nervously look around, fearing that Atticus would back out on his words and leave me. What if he thought that I was some stupid guy who doesn't deserve his attention? My fears are put to rest, though, at the sight of Atticus' warm smile as he waves to me from across the cafeteria. I motion for him to join me at the corner of the room, where all the friendless kids usually sit. Atticus doesn't seem to mind at all, and doesn't hesitate to sit beside me. He's just inches from me. I could easily reach out my hand to take his. I think he's about to when he reaches for me, but no, Atticus was just getting his sack lunch from his bag. I see a cute heart drawn on the bag. It reminds me of the heart I'd carved on the trophy case so long ago.

Atticus blushes, "My moms always drawing stuff on my lunch bags, sorry."

"I don't mind… It's cute, like you." I blurt out before I realized what I had said. Atticus' eyes widened and I quickly averted mine to my pickle and tunafish sandwich.

"Wha-," Atticus starts.

"I mean, like you, like umm your bag?" I try to explain.

Atticus looks amused, "My bag is cute like my bag?"

"Yeaa-ah?" I stutter. Fudgecakes, golly gosh I don't know how to fix this.

"Or do you mean that my bag is cute-like me?"

"…"

"…"

"I-um, how to put this, well I, I may have heard, people have, some other people say that you're cute-not me. Well, I'm not saying that you're not cute, you're extra super cute, but I definitely never said anything like that to anyone. I mean, I have like zero friends, so I listen to a lot of other people. And those people said that you are cute, so I assumed that you'd get that."

"Oh…thanks?" if I didn't know any better, Atticus looks almost heartbroken.

Instinctively, I pull in closer to him, looking deep into his beautiful, crystal clear eyes. Yes, this is the boy that I love so dearly, I move in for the kiss.

The bell rings.

 **Thanks for the two reviews we got! Threes to our fans.**

 **Guesty Macho-keep in mind that this is a slow burn relationship, but that's not to say that there won't be any smut in the future ;).**

 **Sorry for the wait! Gotta keep up the suspense to make you want any more.**

 **-RacistSpatulasofAmerica**


	5. Chapter 5

I see Atticus' eyes widen as the bell rings. He averts his gaze, gathering his belongings in a flash. Before I knew it, he was gone, just like my hopes and dreams of starting a romance with this boy. I hadn't realized how long we had been talking - it feels as though lunch had just started. I stand up from the table, disheartened, but not broken. Atticus hadn't outrightly rejected my kiss. The bell just startled him, that's all. That's all.

Despite my reassurances, the rest of the day goes by in a haze. I spend all of Cotton-Ginning 101 class dreaming about what could have been. How soft are his lips? What would he have looked like as I pulled back. I can just imagine it: Faces flushed with a tint of embarrassment.

My fantasies drift into more intimate scenarios that are far too mature for my age. I don't care, though. I'm not even paying attention to my cotton gin, I hear the teacher yell something at me. As I turn, I'm met with a loud:

SPLORT!

To my horror, my left hand gets jammed into my cotton gin. Upon seeing the blood and my crushed hand, my classmates scream. Pain shoots through my body like a burning fire. Is this the end? My mind grows fuzzy as I lose gallons of blood.

"Someone! Call an ambulance!" I hear faintly. I black out, but not before seeing a certain figure in the doorway.

Atticus stands there, with a look of shock, tears strolling down his face.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Well, after about half a year here's chapter 5. It took a lot of work and time to finish this one! We wanted to make it as real of possible. We really hope we captured that tragic ending :pppp**

 **Threes to all of ya!**

 **-May and Dasie**


	6. Chapter 6

Pain.  
That's all I feel when I first wake up. Miserable, terrible, painful, pain. There's times I come to be somewhat aware of my surroundings, only to slip back into the dark world of unconsciousness.  
"Tom," a voice whispers...a sob. "Tom!"  
My eyes snap open. It's bright, so bright. My right hand is being held so tenderly. Who could it possibly be holding it? Where was I? Why I did feel so weak like a tray of jello? And who was that mysterious figure at my side.  
Atticus...wait. Atticus!  
I gasp, my lungs feel as though they've been submersed in sand for decades. Atticus, my Atticus was there. And holding my hand, nothing could be better.  
"Yo-you're awake," he stutters breathlessly. "I was so worried- you've been out of it for nine days. You've were on life support for the first few. I-I," he choked out, "I thought you were going to die! I couldn't bear the thought."  
"Atti," I softly say, my voice is so strained from lack of use."I'm alright. I'm here. Everything is going to be okay...wait. Where am I? What happened?"  
I see tears start to form in the corners of his eyes. He takes a deep breath, "At Cotton-Ginning 101. I don't know what went wrong, you're the best in the class. But, your arm...it got caught. The doctors tried to fix it, but..."  
I look down at my left hand with dread. To my horror, it's completely wrapped in white bandaging. Even though it's covered, I can see how twisted and disfigured it is. "Oh..."  
"It'll be okay, I promise," Atticus whispers, gripping my other hand tightly. "I'll take care of you from here on. I won't leave your side."  
My heart leaps, Atti...so perfect. So beautiful. I couldn't ask for a greater (future) boyfriend. As much as it sucks to have my hand ruined, it's worth it. For him, I'd do anything.  
"Atticus," I say, truly looking at him for the first time. He looks exhausted, like he hasn't slept in several days. "Have you spent the entire week here?" He nods mutely, looking away slightly. I gasp, "Atticus! You shouldn't! You have to take care of yourself, for me, for us! Go home right this instance and get some rest. Go eat and take a long nap, I'll be fine here,"  
He opens mouth to protest, but shuts it quickly, knowing it's no use to argue. He nods solemnly, but turns back to me one last time, "Until next time..."  
And then, he leans over, pressing a soft kiss to my forehead. Without a word, he turns to leave the hospital room.  
I didn't get much sleep that night.

* * *

 **We're baaaack! We've been working for months on this chapter, doing research on hospitals and hand surgury to get the most realism. So...the relationship is steaming up! See you in six months or something...**

 **Threes to all of our followers! We love you!**

 **-Dasie and May**


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